I ordered my Infinix Hot Note X551 on Jumia and have had it for 2 months, plenty of time to experience it fully. At the time it was Ksh. 9,999. Kachwanya had recommended it and I needed a new phone so I decided to try it.
It has a plastic frame with a metallic finish. The battery does not come off. It has 1 GB of Ram. The 1.4 GHz Octa-core processor makes it easy to do day to day tasks which for me included a lot of internet browsing, music and reading. The battery is the most impressive thing about this phone as it can go 2 days without charging if you are not a heavy user and around a day with heavy use. The Battery is a 4000 mAh Li-Po battery.
The audio jack is on the top left of the phone. The volume and power buttons are on the right side of the phone. At the bottom right of the phone is the USB port.
The phone has ClearMotionTM which makes it great for watching videos and movies as it enhances video fluency.
Display
The phone has a high quality display which makes it easy to view and read documents. The display measures 5.5-inches with 720 x 1280 pixels resolution that gives 267 pixels per inch. The display adjusts to the environment and allows for great output -you can just brightness manually or set it automatically.
Camera
The back camera is 8 megapixels with LED flash. The front is 2 megapixels camera. The cameras offer zero shutter delay so you can take photos fast. It has Face detection, Geo-tagging, and gesture shots. The camera is fast. It has various camera presets including panorama, easy mode, Multi-angle view, motion focus, live photo, automatic scene, smile, and face beauty.
I have to admit that the camera was the only disappointment with this phone. The pictures don’t come out crisp. The quality is not good and the images are low quality. It doesn’t even come close to my other phone’s shots (Samsung trend). Pictures come out different in different environment. It does not do well in areas with little light and during the night. This for me was the biggest drawback of the phone.
Battery
The battery is non removable. The Infinix hot note has fast charging mode which allows you to charge up to 75% in 20 minutes and this can offer up to 7 hours performance. It can last up to 2 days depending on the power options. The low power reduces activities of background applications, reduces the screen time out, and also lowers screen lighting.
The ultra power save allows the battery charge to last longer but restricts usage of the apps. If your battery is getting low, tap on power save mode. When it’s below 10% activate the low battery and the phone will switch off non essential apps like Wi-Fi, blue tooth to keep your battery going a little longer.
Design and Body:
Some people say the design is borrowed from the Note 3 design. I will leave that up to you to decide. The back cover is made of plastic material with a metallic like finish. It comes in gold, copper brown, green, grey and black. It is not too heavy at 172 g. it is actually quite light. It’s a big phone but is also relatively thin at 8.9 mm.
It runs on Android 4.4.2 Kitkat. It has a dual Micro SIM Phone. It has 16 GB internal storage of which only 10 GB is accessible by the user.
Device Specifications
• Size & weight: 156 x 77 x 8.9 mm, 172g
• Display: 5.5-inch Display, 720 x 1280 pixels (267ppi)
• Processor: 1.4GHz octa-core Processor (MT6592)
• Memory: 16 GB internal storage expandable
• Camera: 8 MP main camera LED Flash, 1080p HD Video, Autofocus, Geo-tagging, Face Detection/2 MP front-facing camera
• OS: Android 4.4.4
• Battery: 4000 mAh
• Network: 2G [(GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE) : 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz], 3G [(HSPA+ 42Mbps): 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz], 4G: No
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, hotspot, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, USB2.0.
• Additional features: Multi-window, Ultra-Power Saving Mode,
• Colours: Anthracite Grey, Copper Brown, Champagne Gold, Mint Green
The things of concern
• What happens when the battery fails – this phone battery is non-removable.
• In ultra power save mode when deactivated clears the data for many applications and you have to sign in again.
• The camera isn’t that great if you like using the camera to take pictures at events, or selfies but it is passable.
Recommendation
It’s a good buy especially if you are looking for a phone with a relatively great performance to price. It is the hot gadget to buy right now if you are looking for a Smartphone that has a great battery and a great internet experience.
The phone is available on Jumia for around Ksh. 10,500. It’s gone up because I bought mine at Ksh. 10,000. If you are used to using Samsung gadgets I recommend downloading the Apex launcher which gives you a customized interface which makes it easy to navigate the phone.